The City of White Rock is appealing to the B.C. Disaster Financial Assistance program following an estimate of $4.2 million for repair work to rain damage in Ruth Johnson Park.
In a release issued late Tuesday, the city says the park, in the lower hillside area directly south of Centennial Park, experienced “significant damage to its slopes, walkways and trees” due to extreme rainfall in late January.
“Ruth Johnson is a local treasure,” Mayor Darryl Walker is quoted in the release.
“We’d like to return it to a safe state so people can enjoy the park and sights on the trails.”
The city adds that GeoWest Engineering Ltd. of Abbotsford, hired to assess the damage, reports “multiple slope failures, sunken stairs and walkways and erosion” to both the lower areas of Ruth Johnson Park and nearby Coldicutt Ravine.
Two areas of the park remain closed to the public, while the ravine, fenced off by the city after record rainfall on Jan. 31, isclosed indefinitely, as conditions there are still considered “treacherous.”
Repairs are already underway in Ruth Johnson Park, but detailed assessment is continuing for the ravine.
According to the city release it’s likely study of the ravine will result in a further application for DFA help.
